


Family Matters

by 1Storywriter1



Series: An Amazing And Marvelous Duo [32]
Category: Doctor Strange (Comics), Marvel, Scarlet Spider (Comics), Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Ghost Rider, BAMF Stephen Strange, Dreamscapes, Gen, Magic, Mentioned Peter/Carol, Multi, Parent Stephen Strange, Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Peter Parker on a Mission, Reality Bending, Rescue Missions, Sailing, Supernatural Elements, Team Up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24585178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Storywriter1/pseuds/1Storywriter1
Summary: After a set of strange and too-real dreams, Peter finds himself on a new, very personal mission. With the help of Doctor Strange, they set out to complete a rescue.But is more going on then they know? And just what will it take to finish this mission?
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Peter Parker (Mentioned), Johnny Blaze & Stephen Strange, Kaine (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Ben Reilly, Mary Parker & Nightmare (Marvel), Mary Parker & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange
Series: An Amazing And Marvelous Duo [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484354
Kudos: 8





	1. The Dream

It was very dark, Peter mused. Wherever he was was dark. Like, _super_ dark. Just... _REALLY_ dark, y’know? But that probably wasn’t the point now, was it? Either way, it was the only thing he could think of.

But then it wasn’t dark.

“Huh. Neat”, Peter muttered, getting to his feet. Wait... he was sitting before? “Could’a sworn I was standing. Or... squatting? Where am I?”  
Peter twirled on the spot. Only where he stood was light, like he had a spotlight pointing down at him or something. Everything else was dark. Shrugging his shoulders, Peter moved on, walking into the darkness. The light followed him though, keeping him and this new path visible. The floor was yellow.

Peter started crawling along it involuntarily. “Oh, okay then”, he said, going along. “Yellow floor. Follow the yellow brick road. And why am I _still_ crawling?!”

Honestly, Peter didn’t care. It was just weird. What was weirder though, was how he just started falling immediately after. Falling down, down, down. Infinitely. The man narrowed his eyes, then stuck his hand out. Instead of the usual web he was accustomed to, his whole arm stretched out, grabbing onto the wall.

There was a groan as his body caught up to his arm. “Welp, guess I’m Mr Fantastic now”, Peter chuckled. As he was somehow standing on solid ground again the next moment, he decided to experiment. Turned out he couldn’t stretch anymore. “Oh. Nevermind... Where am I?” 

As Peter posed that question again, there was a tired sigh from behind him. Suddenly a figure came out of the darkness; a woman wearing a black tuxedo, hunched over and riding a child’s tricycle. Peter let out a surprised breath. “Hi Carol. Nice look.”

“Thanks”, she blankly said, continuing to ride the tricycle circles around the man. “And you’re in a dream by the way. I’m dream Carol.”

“Okay dream Carol”, Peter replied, putting his hands on his hips. He scrunched his face up, before directing a curious expression to the woman circling around him. “Say, dream Carol, if this is my dream, why are you in a tux?”

She shrugged. “You want to see actual Carol in a tux? What, would you rather I be naked? That can be arranged.”

Peter frowned at the admission, shaking his head. “Don’t get naked. That’s... huh, wow, I’m not in the mood for nudity. From you. Weird.”

Dream Carol stopped cycling, shrugging up at Peter again. “Not that weird, dude. It’s called self-respect maybe? I guess you still have some.”

There was an odd void of sound for a few moments, before the dreamt-up woman kicked Peter in the leg then began cycling again. “I’m finished talking now. Follow me.”

There were no arguments as Peter followed along, looking on inquisitively as this imaginative Carol clicked her bell at non-existent pedestrians and skid around nothing. He followed either way, wondering why this dream was so weird. Usually his head liked to remind him of failures.

“We’re here”, dream Carol suddenly proclaimed, coming to a halt on her tricycle, which Peter promptly walked into. Somehow the dreamt-up heroine was already off though, slapping at the air. “Here”, she continued. “Walk through this door.”

Peter frowned. “But--”

“Do or do not, there is no try”, dream Carol blurted out of the blue. Peter frowned at her

“That doesn’t even work in this context. And there’s no _door_!” At the end of that, he waved his hands menacingly at the infinite space.

Dream Carol blinked. “Yes there is.”

Peter blinked. “Oh yeah. Nevermind”, he meekly said, looking at the bright blue door in front of him. He opened it, only stopping once he was halfway though. “Well uh... bye, Carol.”

“Not Carol, but bye”, the imaginative-induced woman farewelled, putting on a wild, brown wig. Peter just stared wide-eyed as he finished walking through the doorway, closing it after.

Suddenly he was in a small and homely house, seemingly in the main room. It reminded him of one of those houses from a 50s sitcom or something. Peter looked down, and saw that he was wearing a military uniform. He frowned at that fact as he walked further into the house. For some reason he found himself sitting down at a nice, wooden table as people came in, taking up the other seats.

“Isn’t this a great day?” someone who looked an awful lot like Matt said in a bubbly way. He wore the generic, 50s era dad clothes, along with the warmest smile Peter had ever seen on the man’s face. This proved to him he was definitely in a dream. Still, he listened as his former mentor spoke again. “It’s just... _sooo_ nice to have the family together again.”

Frank Castle walked around in Peter’s field of sight, giving him a mini panic attack as his other former- and now deceased- mentor walked around, giving Matt a slap on the bag. “Sure is, ol’ buddy”, he laughed, looking over excitedly at the people at the table. “Nat? Quill? You lovable lugs feel the same?”

“Sure do!” Natasha excitedly exclaimed.

“Me too!” Quill added, one of his trademarked gigantic smiles on his face.

Okay, this was officially getting too weird for Peter. Sure, it was undeniably a dream, and despite fully knowing this fact, it was still close to traumatic seeing the Punisher, Daredevil _and_ Black Widow fully decked out in that 50s suburban getup, along with how excited and bubbly they were. It was less weird seeing Quill this happy, but that wasn’t the point.

“Hey guys, er, wha-what exactly is going on?” Peter asked, even if it more came out as a jumbled mess. Everyone gave him an odd look, before bursting into a short burst of laughter.

“Aw, Petey. You’re so silly”, Natasha giggled, giving him a playful smack on the arm. “You’ve just come back from serving the army. Why else would we all be here.”

“But I’ve _never_ been in the army!”

“So you just danced around in the uniform?” Quill joked, getting another round of laughs. “C’mon Pete, it’s not that weird to throw a party for our returned, best friend Peter.”

“Yeah”, Frank chirped in. “Don’t you think this is nice, kid? All of us here together again?”

Matt stepped forward after, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulders. “We all understand if this is too much, Pete. War can be traumatic. If you need time, we can wait.”

The words sent a surprising amount of warmth through Peter, but still, he was completely lost. “I’m just... what... ugh. Sure, let’s give me this coming home thing then.”

There was a click of teeth as suddenly everyone was wearing radiation suits. “Sorry, Petey, but seems we’ll have to cut it short”, Natasha said, giving him a small pat on the head as she ran over with everyone else to put on her helmet. “Maybe another day?”

Peter just groaned, sagging in his chair as the nuclear blast hit his location. He watched his friends turn to nothing over in the corner before sighing and closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was in a diner. “Oh for fu-- you gotta be kidding!”

“No kidding here”, a loud voice called at him. Peter turned to look at the owner of the voice. It was some woman he’d never met wearing those stereotypical diner-lady clothes. She shrugged as he took in her appearance then hit his head against the table. “What’s wrong there? Rough night? Ya lady leave ya?”

Peter turned his head by a fraction so he could just see the lady over his arm. “We both know it’s neither of those things. This is the weird, demented dream of one Peter Benjamin Parker.”

The lady huffed, coming and sitting down next to the man. “Well good job, Peter. It’s a nice dream. Or maybe I just think that ‘cause I’m alive while you’re in it? Either way, you should know it’s okay to have weird dreams. _I_ have a demented dream every so often. Like, the other day I dreamt of my girlfriend just eating a plate of beans while _Danger Zone_ played in the background.”

There was a chuckle as Peter raised his head, looking at the woman with an eyebrow raised in amusement. “Okay yeah, that’s pretty weird. But I just watched my two mentors, my pseudo-sister and my best friend get nuked. I think I’m way weirder.”

“Maybe”, the woman said, running her hands over her face. “God, it’s been a night, huh? I’m Payton by the way.”

“Nice to meet you”, Peter replied, smiling at the woman. “You kinda remind me of someone if I’m being honest.”

Payton grinned widely. “Well I’d hope so. Even though I’m a figment of your imagination, I’m also an alternate you somewhere out in the big, bad multiverse. _Daredevil’s_ my girlfriend, dude!”

“Wait, _WHAT_!”

Peter wasn’t able to stick around for a reply, as before he knew it he was falling again, landing with a _THUMP_ in a grass plane. He sighed as he got up, dusting himself off. Seemed to be in a suit now, for some reason. 

Walking along, Peter weakly put a hand over his head as rain started to fall, finally coming across a small gathering. 

“We gather here today for a mega sad reason”, the pastor- _Deadpool?_ \- sadly said, glancing down at his bible. “Because if you look over to your left, folks, you’ll see that Peter Benjamin Parker’s coffin is over there.” Wade let out an exaggerated sniff as he wiped a hand over his masked eyes. “So sad. Anyone of you guys ‘n’ gals got a word to say?"

As Peter kept unconsciously walking forward, he saw Ben walk up. He took the mic, the brought it closer to himself. “My bro’s dead. Not cool, bro. Not cool.” Kaine whooped at the words. Ben then gave the mic back to Deadpool and sat down.

“I really hate this acid trip of a dream”, Peter muttered. 

Next, Carol walked forward, a sad look on her face. “Peter’s dead. One, true love of my life, you’ve left me for the great beyond. It’s really hard without you.” Peter looked on sadly at the words, but that expression quickly turned to shock as the woman brightened up out of nowhere. “But that’s okay! I can move on now. Hey, D-Pool, let’s go! Smash me, bro!”

Deadpool pumped his fist, ripping off his pastor suit, leaving him in his regular red-and-blacks before taking Carol’s hand and running down the aisle. “F*** yeah! Pool’s getting busy now, peeps. See ya, chumps!”

“Wait. No! Don’t move on with Wade!” Peter cried, laying down in the coffin. On a power not his own, his hands reached up and shut the lid above him. Peter breathed hard. He was in darkness again. “Full circle, huh brain?”

There wasn’t an answer.

“You know, brain, you’re being very uncool right now”, Peter murmured. “Dumb bully.”

“That’s not very nice to say.”

Peter jumped at the voice, thrashing wildly for a moment. He calmed down almost immediately after, finding himself face-to-face with a strange looking man. The man had wild, pitch black hair, pure white skin and a mix-and-match assortment of green clothes on. This man focused his pitch black eyes on Peter, giving him a smile.

“Hello, Peter.”

“Uh. Hi”, Peter awkwardly greeted. He would’ve waved, but the coffin didn’t really give him enough room to do so. The other man however, seemed to grow space from nowhere, wiggling his limbs around willy-nilly.

“Yes, thanks. So, this is a nice dream you’re having, Peter”, the man continued. “Very strange and freaky. I like it.”

“Good for you?”

“Yes, it is good. But- given the circumstances- I’m not here for your odd activity today.”

“Oh?”

The man smiled, those eyes seeming to look straight into Peter. “Yes. Something you need to know, young Peter. Something that will change your life.” Peter eyed the rag-wearing man curiously. “You see, my boy, you aren’t the last Parker.”

Peter’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, excluding your aunt and clones I mean- they don’t count- there is _one_ more Parker. Wiggling her way through life.”

“You’re lying”, Peter replied simply, face completely blank.

The man looked offended. “Oh but I’m not. You see, there are two types of family. Blood and found. If we’re being all cutesy, you have a big, happy family! But that’s found. Natasha, Stark, Quill, Rogers- all of them are found. And May is not blood, she was married into the Parker family tree. Kaine and Ben are genetic clones.”

“Your point?”

“My point is, if it wasn’t for all this pseudo adoption, found family stuff, you’d be all alone. But you’re not, young Peter. As I said, there is one more _blood family_ Parker out there in the realm of conscious, doing her thing. And I know you can figure out who that would be quite easily.”

Peter was quiet for several minutes. “Nope”, he finally said. “Anything you’re suggesting is impossible. My mom and dad just- _whoosh!_ \- gone, and I definitely don’t have a sibling. And there is no way _I_ have a kid.”

A sigh from the white skinned man. “Fine. Believe that nonsense. But if you change your mind... here.” He pressed a hand to Peter’s forehead. Suddenly dozens upon dozens of images and directions swarmed his head, burning themselves in there. As Peter groaned and writhed, the man started up again. “Maybe that will make you see truth. But it’s time to wake up, my boy. See you around, Peter.”

And then Peter woke up.


	2. The Request

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter contacts the one man he knows could help him find his sole relative: Doctor Strange. But is there more at play than it seems?

Peter woke up screaming and with a burning head.

As he close to catapulted himself out of the bed, he was quickly secured by strong arms, someone talking to him. Peter evened out his breathing as his eyes finally started working properly again, finding himself looking up into the worried eyes of Carol. She slowly lowered him back down and got him into a sitting position just as he started breathing normally again.

“Peter, are you okay?” she asked. He looked blankly on in front of them, half realising they were in the medbay. “Peter?”

He sighed, finally looking over to his partner. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m okay, Carol.” Peter smiled, taking her hands as she sighed out. “But... _why_ exactly am I here?”

At the question, Carol grit her teeth, letting out a harsh breath. “ _Weeell_ , you kinda-- you know, got squished by Sandman.” Peter hummed, sagging lower into the bed. Carol frowned. “You don’t remember?”

Peter shook his head. There was only one thing in his head now. One thing he _really_ needed to look into. “No, I don’t remember. But there is something I need to do.” At Carol’s curious look, he shook his head. “I need to do it alone.”

The next moment Peter slid out of the bed effortlessly, getting a surprised look from Carol. “How are you not hurt? That was a really bad hit you took yesterday. Harder than usual.”

The man shrugged as he walked over to his Spider suit. “I don’t feel any pain at all. And that’s weird if the fight was only yesterday. My healing’s fast, but not _that_ fast.” Peter continued putting his suit on after saying that, only speaking again once he was done. “Okay Carol, I’m going out for a while. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but this is something that could be really important.”

“Okay”, she quickly replied. “I’ll tell the others you’re up.” Carol got a nod in reply, and before Peter completely left the room, she pulled him towards her, giving him a kiss. When they pulled apart she gave him a cautious look. “Just- whatever you’re going to do, be safe, okay?”

“I will”, Peter promised, pulling his mask on and heading for the exit. He went for the landing pad on the top of the building, and once there, stood on the edge. Standing there, he looked over the city until he roughly pinpointed where he needed to go. “Bleecker Street, here I come.”

The next moment Peter jumped, free falling off the building. As the ground came closer and closer, he aimed out with a hand, and upon getting it just where he wanted to, pushed down, sending a strand of webbing shooting through the air, sticking onto the side of the building. The web pulled him along, sending him zooming above the streets. 

He let go of the web, shooting out a new one once he’s gathered enough downward speed again. As he swung again, Spidey twisted his body, letting him move around in the swing. At the peak of the arch he let go, sending him catapulting up into the air. The move sent him high up, and after taking a calming breath, Peter shot out another web. This time though, the moment it hit its surface he yanked hard, zipping through the air.

After another few minutes of swinging, the costumed vigilante made it to his destination, gripping to the side of the building before doing a little flip down onto the floor. As he landed, some people called out to Spider-Man, to which in reply he gave a kind wave back. It wasn’t for long though, as he next moved over to the seemingly ordinary house on Bleecker Street. He knocked.

“Yes?” The master of the mystic arts, the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange asked as Spidey was suddenly in the middle of the hero’s living room. “What seems to be the problem, Spider-Man?”

Spidey grinned under the mask as he took a few steps closer to the sorcerer, taking a seat opposite the doctor when he motioned the chair. “Hey, Doc. And to answer your question, I’m... I’m not really sure if it’s a problem or not. But it’s something I _knew_ I had to look into.”

“Go on”, Strange urged, observing the wallcrawler curiously. Spidey took a breath before continuing.

“Well, okay, I know it’ll sound crazy, but since you deal with magic and everything, I thought you might be able to tell me if it’s more real than I think or not. Alright, so getting onto it, I had this dream.” The man waited a moment before saying more, trying to read Strange’s expression. He couldn’t. “Basically, this dream was really weird, but I don’t think any of it was real important until the end of it.”

Strange sat back slightly, crossing his arms. “How so, Peter?”

Spider-Man sighed. “Well, if I’m to believe figments of my unconscious mind, I think... I think my mom might be alive.”

The sorcerer sighed. If it was anyone else, he would have dismissed them already, but Strange knew he owed Peter a hearing out. Plus, this was dream territory. This could have a larger implication than Stephen thought. “Tell me more.”

There was a nod. “I-I didn’t really understand any of it, but this thing happened, and I had all these... flashes? It was like-- mental images of things _I’d_ never done, and of this woman who was my mom -- I’m guessing. There were also these weird coordinates too. They’re like, _stuck_ right there in my head.”

Doctor Strange leant closer, so much that the other man started to feel a little awkward. “What do you mean, ‘ _coordinates_ ’?”

“I’ve got a map in my head”, Peter blurted. “Or, I think it’s a map at least. I don’t know, okay?! That’s why I came to you!”

Stephen groaned, lightly running a hand through his hair. “Okay, Peter. So you have a map in your head. How do you know it’s not some leftover, odd imprint left from your dream?”

“Because some creepy guy touched my head and put them in there!”

The sorcerer froze. Slowly, he turned, looking Spider-Man right in the eyes. “A man put them in there? What did he look like?”

Spidey fidgeted for a moment before answering. “He was, like, weird. His skin was freakishly white, and he had fully black eyes.”

“Wait”, Strange muttered, not moving any further away from his friend. “White skin, black eyes. And he was nothing like the other parts of your dream?” He could tell there was a raised eyebrow under the mask, but the doctor didn’t have time for that right now, especially when he got a nod. “Peter, this is trouble.”

“How’s that?” Spidey asked uncertainly. The other man sighed, moving over to sit down again. Once he was, he let out one more sigh before answering. 

“The ‘man’ in your dream wasn’t a man. He’s a spirit called Nightmare. I think that’s enough explanation to tell you what he does.”

“Do you think he was just messing with me then?” Peter asked, trying to hide his- surprising to him- disappointment.

After a few moments, the sorcerer shook his head. “No, no I don’t. In all my years as Sorcerer Supreme, he has never willingly offered anyone anything.” He got up after saying that, grabbing some papers from across the room before coming back over. Strange dropped them on the table before handing the spider-themed hero a pen. “I want you to draw down the map from your dream, Peter. We’ll go from there after. I have to attend to something while you do that.”

“You got it, doc”, Spider-Man said, doing a little salute before getting to business. Doctor Strange quietly chuckled before moving up and further into the Sanctum Sanctorum.

The sorcerer walked through his home, up the stairwell and through halls until he came to the correct room. He entered, lightly tapping his hand against the wall. The objects inside the room shifted around until only a levitating block was left in the centre of the room, a box on a stand next to it. Strange moved to it, adjusting his body so he was laying on it.

Having done that, the man moved his hands above him, lights seeming to come out of them. Once he finished, he dropped his hands again. He instantly fell into the realm of dreams.

Meanwhile, Peter busied away, rapidly swiping his pen across the papers madly. He didn’t physically have a direction, but the pictures in his mind commanded him to keep going. He gave a small groan as he fell back many minutes later, rolling over onto the chair. He flexed his writing hand a few times before letting out a breath.

“My hand’s sore”, he feebly whined to himself. “And I guess I was sitting too. Neat.” Spidey blinked a few times before tilting his head back. He brought it back to normal after, looking down at the map he had made. He squinted at it. It definitely didn’t look in any way familiar. “Weird.”

“Interesting “, came Strange’s voice a moment later. Spider-Man jumped, but was able to keep himself in the seat. “I’ve seen this island charted before, but from what I understand it hasn’t been explored.”

“Really?” Peter asked curiously. His friend simply nodded.

“You wouldn’t find this on a regular map- or on one of Stark’s advanced satellites. It’s a mystically concealed island”, Stephen explained.

Peter grinned widely. “Wait-- this is a _magic_ island? That’s so cool! But wait, how do _I_ know it? This definitely means that Nightmare dude was for real, right? My- probably- mom is alive on that island?”

Strange took a deep, thought-filled breath. “I guess there’s only one way to find out, my friend.”

The other man couldn’t help but smile, letting in some curious-filled hope. “Okay! Let’s go then. Port us over there, doc.”

The sorcerer chuckled softly at Spidey’s words. “You misunderstand, Parker. Islands like this one were concealed long, _long_ ago. The sorcerers who performed the rituals back then were exceptionally more powerful than ones now, _including_ me. The only way to reach these areas they would have used is manually.”

“So we’re boating it over?” Peter asked, a small feeling of uncertainty coming back to him. Strange sighed before giving a nod.

“It will be a long and more than likely perilous journey, but it is the only way.”

“What if we just flew?”

“Not an option... for some reason”, Stephen admitted. It was a rule he’d learnt about similar islands to Peter’s one that had never made sense to him. Ancient sorcerers were a strange lot. “But that’s okay. I know someone who could help.”

“Let me guess: another wizard?” Peter asked amused, crossing his arms. Stephen chuckled before crossing his own, walking towards the Sanctum’s entry.

“Oh, no, Parker. Someone much more useful. Someone I believe you know. A... _spirit_ of our own; one who is much used to exploring mystic islands”, he explained, trying to stop himself from grinning. Spidey was seeming to catch onto the excitement, half off his seat.

“Well don’t leave me in suspense, doc. Who?!” Peter excitedly asked. Stephen just let them smile on his face as he opened the door. A man walked through just after, his dark and slightly burned leather jacket instantly getting an explosion of hyped up surprise from the wallcrawler. 

The man flashed a smile as he raised his head. “Johnny Blaze, at your service.”


	3. The Farewells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter, Stephen and Johnny prepare to embark. Peter ties a few loose ends.

As the afternoon light shined overhead, Peter turned to his ally. “Didn’t know you owned a boat, Rider.”

Johnny Blaze gave him a funny look, like that should’ve been obvious. “Dude, I’m possessed by a vengeful spirit that lets me semi-morph things into badass, flaming versions. Of course I own a boat. How do you think I travel country to country?”

“On a plane?” Peter tried. He got an amused laugh in reply, and couldn’t help but frown. Was it just a rule people with any sort of ties to something magical didn’t use planes? Either way, he continued walking down the pier, coming to stand next to Doctor Strange. The sorcerer side-glanced his friend before speaking.

“Are you still sure about this Parker”, he asked. “If this is too much, Blaze and I can just go instead.”

Peter shook his head. “No. I’ve gotta go. My maybe-prophetic dream, my participation.”

It was probably not the most suitable saying for this moment, but Stephen got the idea. “If you say so. We’ll be leaving early tomorrow, so I’d suggest wrapping up anything that needs it ASAP.”

The other man nodded. “Cool.” He lightly slapped Strange’s shoulder before walking away. “Tell Blaze I’ll be back later then. See ya.”

As Peter walked away he pulled out his phone. Keeping up quick glances at the roads- using his spider-sense more than anything to navigate- he went through it for a few minutes as he walked. He sent a few messages out before turning a corner, then called up a number.

“Hello”, came the groggy greeting of the person on the other side of the line. Peter amusedly grinned to himself before saying anything. 

“It’s four in the afternoon, Matt. What are you doing over in the Kitchen?”

“Well I _was_ trying to rest”, he snarked. “Had a fight with your old friend Marko last night.”

Peter laughed. “Seems everyone’s having trouble with ol’ Sandy lately.”

Matt hummed an agreement. “So is there something you need to tell me?”

“Yeah”, Peter admitted, sighing as someone he bumped into yelled profanities at him. “I’m gonna be out of town for a while-- maybe a week or so? I was just wondering if maybe you could get Luke or Danny to help out my people while I’m gone.”

“What about me”, Matt asked in exaggerated offense. Peter could just picture the too-innocent smirk on his mentor’s face.

“We both know you can barely function out of the Kitchen”, Peter supplied, more to rub it in than anything. “And I know either of those two won’t try and intimidate the juniors into submission.”

“I’m not _that_ harsh”, Matt defended. Peter’s memory just flashed to the time the older man had pushed him off a building to ‘test’ his spider-sense. He decided not to remind the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante about the accident. “But yeah, I’ll get one of ‘em to keep a lookout on those kids. The Champions, right?”

Peter privately grinned in pride at the name drop. Seemed the kids were starting to get around now. “Yeah, that’s them. But I’d like you specifically to visit Ben once or twice. I know he has officer Mahoney, but it’s not the same, if you know what I mean.”

“Of course I do. Bye, Peter.”

“Bye, Matt.”

He hung up the phone after saying that, just in time to see a message come through from Carol. _Team’s together_ , it said. _Waiting on you_.

The man quickly replied before putting his phone away. _Be there in ten_. After sending it and pocketing the phone, Peter crossed the street, looking up at Avengers Tower. He didn’t know what the team in question would think about his sudden mission, but he hoped they’d at least let him do it on his own terms.

As his movements drew closer to the building and time drew on, Peter finally arrived. Walking straight through the lobby he went straight for the back room. Once in there he activated the hidden Avengers-clearance elevator and took that up. He sent a quick text saying he was there before briefly adjusting his shirt and walking out once the doors opened.

Quickly and easily getting to the meeting room, he walked through the door to see most of his Avengers teammates gathered inside. Tony and Steve sat at the back end- or front depending on perspective- of the room, with Scott and Quill on the left side and Carol on the right. He gave a quick, questioning look to the woman, to which she replied with a shrug.

“What’s up, Pete?” Tony asked for the group. “Carol said you needed to tell us all something. Something even she didn’t know.”

Peter gave a tight smile at that small fact being pointed out. She probably wouldn’t be too happy by the time he was done. “Yeah, I got something to say. Was kinda expecting everyone to be here.”

“Nat’s on a SHIELD mission and Jess is ‘dealing with stuff’”, Steve told Peter, his tone not quite convinced at Jess’ reasoning. “And I was told you’ve already wrapped the Defenders on what’s going on?”

“Daredevil at least”, Peter added. “He’ll fill in the others.” He ran a hand over his face before sitting down at the table. “Alright, I’ll get onto it now. So basically the main thing is: I’m going out of town for a week or two- maybe more. There’s this… thing I don’t want to get into right now that Doctor Strange and I are looking into.”

“You don’t need our help?” Quill asked his friend. “You know we’ll give it, right Pete?”

He nodded. “I know you guys can help, but that’s the thing. I want… I don’t want any of you coming.”

Carol seemed like she was about to argue, but was beat by Tony. “C’mon kid, seriously? We’re a team, we work together. And if you’ve got Strange helping you out, surely we can too.”

“No”, Peter said firmly. “You can’t. It’s some-- a bunch of magic on magic, and he said it’s best to keep the people to a minimum.”

“And the minimum’s two? No way”, Tony deadpanned. “We’re helping.”

“No. No we’re not”, Steve spoke up, surprising everyone in the room. He looked straight at Peter, seeming to address him more than anyone else in the room. “This seems to be something… personal I’m guessing. We’ve all done something similar in the same situation. As long as you’ve got a good plan, Peter, go and do your best I say.”

Peter shrugged smiled warmly. “Thanks, Cap.”

Steve shrugged, grin on his face. “Just _try_ to keep minimum contact at least please?”

“I’ll try my best”, Peter agreed before turning his attention to the others. “Does anyone else have anything to say?”

Scott shook his head. Quill did the same. Tony gave a half-shake, obviously reluctantly. Carol didn’t give an immediate reply, stewing on the question. Eventually she spoke. “Are-are you sure you want to do this alone, Peter? I mean, I won’t stop you, but I’d feel a lot better being with you.”

Peter slid over next to Carol, taking her hands. “I am sure, Carol. I know it isn’t usual, but I’ll do my best to keep regular check ups. It’ll be like you’re there just from that.”

Carol sighed, but nodded her head. “Okay. So… when are you leaving then?”

“Tomorrow”, Peter quickly replied. There were some surprised looks, but he didn’t pay them any mind. “I know it’s sudden, but it’s the only way.” Standing, he addressed everyone with a final nod. “I’ve got one more thing to do, then I’ll heading out to see May and my brothers. So uh, goodbye everyone. Hopefully I won’t be gone to long…”

The team were mostly quiet as Peter left the room, just watching him leave. As the door shut close, everyone shared a collective sigh. “Damn”,

Tony groaned. “Uh, maybe I could--”

“Don’t even think about it”, Steve warned, glaring at the Iron Avenger.

Back with Peter, he made his way through the Tower until he reached his private room. Going straight for the closet he grabbed out all of his Spider-Man gear before carefully packing it into a bag. He grabbed a few other important things as well before leaving and deciding to head to the lab. Once there, he deactivated a few of his more sensitive ongoing projects and grabbing as much web fluid as he could. Just as he went for the exit again, he had a light bulb idea, quickly running back in to grab the Iron Spider suit.

Now with all of these things acquired, Peter headed for the elevator again. Once he reached the bottom of the Tower, he exited the building. Deciding the easiest and quickest way to Queens was through a taxi, he hailed one over before hopping in.

About fifteen minutes later the taxi reached Peter’s destination: the Parker residence. Walking up to the front door he knocked on it, and a few moments later the door was opened. Peter was greeted by his aunt May, a surprised but happy smile on her face. “Hello, Peter. Wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

Peter laughed lightly, shrugging his shoulders. “Well, even if I didn’t have something to say, I think it’s about time I come and check up on everyone.”

May lightly smiled at the words, but was caught up on the first half. “Is something happening, Peter?”

His face fell a little. “Yeah. Can I come in?”

His aunt looked at him in concern, moving out of the way and letting her nephew in. As he looked around the house, May spoke up again. “If you’re wondering, Ben is finishing off his homework and Kaine is on his way home from work.”

Parker nodded along to the words, going for the stairs. “How long will Kaine be? It’s kinda important to have everyone here at once.” May went to question what he meant, but Peter was already up the stairs. “I’ll grab Ben.”

About a minute or so later May heard the two Parkers come out of the room, Ben curiously chattering. “So what’s goin’ on, bro? I was kinda in the middle of something.”

“I’ll tell you when Kaine gets here”, Peter replied, walking down the stairs after his younger brother. As the two got down, the front door opened, showing a very curious Kaine walking in. “Wow, that’s convenient. Hey, Kaine. How ya going?”

“Uh… fine?” Kaine slowly said. He peered suspiciously at Peter, and saw his aunt and other brother wore the same expression as him. “Is something… wrong?”

Peter shrugged. “Not necessarily _wrong_ but-- I don’t know really. It’s a thing in progression.”

“That being?” Kaine urged. 

“There’s this thing Doctor Strange and I are looking into”, Peter explained. He flashed a strained look as he continued. “I- we- uh, there’s a chance my… there’s a chance my mom might be alive.”

Silence ran in the room.

After mostly getting over the shock of that reveal, May was first to speak. “Your… your _mother_ might be alive?”

Her nephew gave a mixed look. “We’re still not entirely sure. But, maybe.”

Kaine huffed, looking at his brother with raised eyebrows. “That’s some intense shit, Pete.”

Ben spoke next, just before Peter could. “How are you dealing with this, bro? Do you need our help?”

Peter put his hands out in surrender. “Hey, one at a time, guys. First off, yes, it is sort of intense, Kaine. I’m trying really hard not to let my hopes become too high just to be let down. And second, I’m dealing with this- _solo_ \- right now, Ben. Well, I got doc Strange and the Rider, but that’s all. We’re keeping it at small numbers. It’s mystic stuff, you know? Really complicated.”

With all that laid out, his brothers let out mutual hard breaths. “Jeez”, Kaine hissed. Sure, he and Peter may be brothers, but when it came to a mother, he didn’t share the same connections and drive as his genetic template. “So you’re figurin’ this all out with a wizard?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure you don’t need us, Pete?” Ben asked, not able to hide his worry very well. “This sounds like… _a lot_ , a lot. Like Kaine said: intense.”

His brother put his hands on his head, pushing slightly. “It probably will be intense. I guess we’ll just see how it plays out.” Peter was quiet for a moment, pulling his bag off before speaking again. “But there is something you guys can do to help me over here.”

The oldest clone gave Peter an affirming look. “Of course, Peter. Anything you need.”

“If you say so. It’s something mildly important.” Having said that, Peter reached into his bag, grabbing what he was looking for. Pulling it out, he got surprised looks from Ben and Kaine. The Spider-Man suit was in his hands. “I need you to keep the Spider-Man figure out there. I don’t need you to wear it every night, but maybe two or three times a week ‘til I get back. Is that okay?”

Kaine moved forward, shakily grabbing the suit. “This is-- are you sure, Pete? I mean, this is big, right?”

“I guess so”, Peter replied with a weak chuckle. “So...?”

“I can’t”, Ben suddenly blurted, a slightly panicked look on his face. “No-no way, Pete. I-I--”

“Hey, calm down, Ben. It’s cool”, Peter said soothingly. “You don’t have to. It’s not like-- not like I’m never coming back if you wear it.”

“Yeah. I’ll do it Pete”, Kaine said, glancing over at Ben for a minute. “I’ll wear it out for a couple days. That good?”

Peter silently nodded. “I’ll only be a week or so”, he lamely said after a few moments. It was after that though, that he realised there was a strange quiet from one family member. “May? Are you okay?”

She looked up at him after that was said, an odd look on her face. “I… your mother is alive? I just- I never… wow. That fact is hanging me up.”

“I think I’m still the same”, Peter said. “But... you’ll be alright while I’m gone?”

May gave a reassuring look. “Of course, Peter. Just be careful out there.”

“Always”, he said firmly. After another few minutes of talk and fine-tuning the schedule for showing ‘Spider-Man’ around town, Peter decided he had to end it there. He had a boat to catch in the morning, and didn’t plan on missing it. As he said his goodbyes and opened the door, he looked back at his family one more time. Ben. May. Kaine. And maybe, just _maybe_ after all this was said and done, he would see his mother around here one day as well. So with a smile on his face, he spoke one last time. “I love you guys. Don’t forget it.”

“We love you too, Pete”, Kaine said, still gripping the suit in his hands. “You better come back in one piece, brother.”

Peter gave a hard nod. “I’ll come back to you guys. I promise.”

And then he left. Whatever came next was for another day...


	4. The Not-So-Smooth Sailings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out at sea, the trio run into trouble. Peter has another meeting with Nightmare.

“And that marks-- three days!”

Peter cheered after calling that out, scraping down a third tally as he said it. This drew amused looks from Blaze and Strange, who continued with their more mystically driven going-ons. 

But they knew- as Peter had so ‘helpfully’ pointed out- that three days had passed since they’d embarked on their voyage. If Strange’s calculations were correct, they more than likely still had four days max before reaching the island. He wasn’t sure he could handle it kindly. As Peter was the only one who didn’t have any supernatural abilities or knowledge, he was the odd one out, usually left sitting around on the ship. Either way, Peter’s random rattlings were still tolerable. “Peter, can you pass the map over please?”

The spider-themed hero obliged, grinning as he filled the request. Flipping around the ship, he jumped over, grabbing the map then manoeuvring back over to the sorcerer. “Here you go, Doc. One map.”

“Thank you”, he distractedly thanked, already wrapped up in checking out the map. Peter quietly groaned, wandering around the top level aimlessly again. He really should’ve brought something to entertain himself. All he’d bothered to pack was food, his webshooters and a _whole_ lot of web fluid. Maybe not the best idea in hindsight.

Making his way over to Johnny, Peter looked over at the sea with him. “See anything interesting?”

Blaze glanced over at him for a moment before looking back over the edge. “Nothing yet. That’s a good sign, but not the greatest.”

“Really?” Peter asked, genuinely surprised. Blaze just shrugged his shoulders.

“You’d think nothing would be good, but it usually isn’t. Calm before the storm and all that”, Johnny explained. “But then again, having action every two seconds isn’t great either. So we’re cautiously okay for now, you ask me.”

Peter hummed along. “If you say so. But I swear if this is just your paranoia...”

Johnny chuckled. “Trust me, kid, out here on the sea, paranoia is usually a good thing to have. It’s either having that or drowning.”

The other man gave the other a strange look before walking off again. There were only so many times you could ask the same questions over and over again in a day. So even if it was only midday, Peter decided to call it quits, heading below deck to rest- or more likely stare at the ceiling for a couple of hours.

As he reached the bunks, flopping down in the one he had called dibs on, Peter aimlessly looked up at the roof. He sighed, closing his eyes. “Gonna get there eventually, Pete. You can lose your mind then.”

A few minutes later, and Peter had fallen into the dreaming territory...

Slowly opening his eyes, Peter groaned slightly. Something wasn’t right. So when his eyes opened, that not right thing very obvious, he gave a cry of surprise. Everything was either burned or submerged in water, the blaring composition not at all nice on the eyes. 

Peter cried out again as a figure seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing him by the shoulders. The figure laughed maniacally as he turned his head around. 

Nightmare.

“Ha ha! What a feminine scream you have, my boy!” Nightmare joyously exclaimed, still gripping Parker’s shoulders. As the spirit’s laughter died down, he looked at the spider man expectantly. “So, how are you going, young Parker? It’s been a few days.”

“That it has”, Peter grumbled. “And by the way, I don’t have a feminine scream. You just caught me off guard.”

“Oh of course! Of course”, Nightmare berated himself, throwing his hands in the air. He frowned, before turning back to his ‘friend’ with a wide and unnatural grin. “You know, my friend, _I_ heard that you are travelling to that little island I put in your head. And I have to say: good job! I truly hope you find what you’re looking for.”

The man looked at the spirit suspiciously after he had said that. “You know Nightmare, you really make it sound like I’m walking into a trap. Have you set me up?”

Nightmare wore an expression of panic at the accusation, waving his hands. “Oh no no no. No trap, my boy! I just- how do I sat this- I have a... _creepy_ sounding voice. Trust me, I genuinely want you to find your relative.”

Peter sighed after a few moments, looking at the spirit in slight worry. “Do you... it is my mom who’s alive, right?”

The dream spirit giggled to himself, the grin on his face betraying the shrug he was trying to prioritise. “You tell me?”

“It is, isn’t it”, Peter stated more than asked. He felt a strange sense of hope and excitement at his theory pretty much being confirmed, a smile working onto his face. Then a thought entered his head. “Wait, how- how do _you_ know that my mom is on that island?”

There was a strangled laugh before Nightmare had jumped forward, slapping Peter. “And AWAKEN!!!”

Upon returning to the conscious realm, Peter pretty much catapulted himself into the roof, coughing madly. His face stung. Badly. “Ow”, he weakly said, peeling himself off the roof. Dropping down, he peered through the window, seeing the darkness outside. “Well I guess it’s nighttime now.”

Pulling his boots on and checking over his webshooters, Peter then went above deck again. From what he could see, the Doc and Blaze were still doing their thing, even at- ow wow, ten-thirty. The man looked over to Strange, grabbing his attention.

“Yes, Peter?” Stephen slowly asked. Peter gave an awkward smile before continuing.

“Still on the grind, I see”, he started conversationally. The sorcerer quietly chuckled. “Anyways, pretty sure I dreamt something possibly important.” At the other man’s interested eyebrow raise Peter continued again. “It was Nightmare. Went on about how even if he _sounds_ suspicious, he’s not. Just the tone of his voice, apparently.”

Doctor Strange gave his usually spider-themed ally an odd look. “ _The_ Nightmare said that?” He got a nod in answer. “That’s... quite peculiar.”

“It was weird”, Peter agreed with a hint of lighter emotion. “But he said he did genuinely want me to find my mom-- yeah, confirmed the mystery relative was definitely my mom too. When I asked him how he knew though, he forced me into waking up.”

“Interesting. Very interesting”, Stephen commented, hand resting on his chin. “Nightmare is holding out information, but I have a feeling all will be revealed in due time. It seems he may slowly be revealing everything. If he plays it right, we won’t know he’s deceiving us until the end.”

“So you think he’s definitely playing with us. Me, specifically”, Peter said disappointed. He really hated how much this whole situation was swinging his emotions back and forth.

The sorcerer groaned before replying. “It’s a very backwards forwards, inside out game with these ‘godly’ spirits, Peter. They always jump to and from the line of good and evil on whim. As I’ve said before, this may all be a very convoluted trap or the real thing. There’s honestly only one way to find out.”

Peter frowned to himself before forcing himself to become more neutral. “Okay... so where’s ol’ John at?”

“Should be at the front of the ship”, Stephen supplied. “I was planning on checking in on him soon.”

“How about I do it now instead?” Peter asked. “Gotta pull my weight somehow right?”

Strange looked at him in resignation. “Sure.”

Leaving the doctor be, Peter walked around the deck until he was at the front. As he moved he couldn’t help but note the light pellets of rain starting to fall. Hopefully it wouldn’t become too heavy. Reaching the front, he easily found his supernatural ally.

“Anything going on, Rider”, he asked. “Seems it’s check up time, according to the Doc. Not really though, I’m just playing up his words.”

Blaze looked at Peter in amusement for a moment before hardening up. “Well, I’d like to say it’s all good, but trouble is coming up. Something or someone with a whole lotta bad vibes, goin’ off what the Rider is telling me.”

Peter let himself feel shock for just a minute before getting ready to go on the offensive. “Alright, something I can definitely help with. Well, want me to get the Doc or should I stay and you get him?”

The man gave a motion for Peter to do it. He did, quickly running over and alerting the Sorcerer Supreme who swiftly fell in line, following his Spider ally. As the trio all came to look over the edge into the darkness, the rain started falling harder.

 _Not a good omen_ , Peter thought. That thought was completely proved however, when a flash of lightning unveiled a humongous figure approaching them, it’s tentacles flailing madly. Peter’s eyes widened madly at the sight.

“Is that the f***ing _KRAKEN??!!_ ” Peter screamed. The other two tiredly looked at him.

“That is the Kraken”, Doctor Strange said. 

“Sure is”, Johnny answered at the same time.

“Jeez loiuze”, Peter groaned, running his hands over his face. “Of course the goddamn _Kraken_ is real and about to attack us.” He looked back and forth between the outline of the creature and his allies. “So you two got any plans of some kind?”

“Yeah”, Johnny said, steam starting to roll off his face. “Kill it.”

The next moment his head was in flames, and then his flesh face was replaced with a flaming skull. The Ghost Rider then marched off, disappearing from view. Stephen sighed as he started conjuring a spell. “So theatrical that man is.”

As the thin, golden and red lines of the sorcerer’s spell appeared in the air, Peter pulled his hands into fists, bringing them up to his chest. Once the friggin’ Kraken off all things was closer, he’d be able to actually hit it. As another crack of lightning flashed through the air, he and Strange easily saw that the creature was much closer than before. It would probably be on them any moment now.

“Just in case this thing kills us”, Peter started. “I wanted to say I’ve really appreciated having you as a friend.”

“Thanks. That’s surprisingly means a lot to me. I uh, I feel the same”, Strange said, half-yelling over the rain.

Suddenly, a loud _FWOOM!_ echoed through the air, and then the trio’s boat was in flames. Peter jumped, crying out in surprise. Stephen just continued his spell, seemingly unfazed. After that, the loud and echoey laugh of the spirit of vengeance could be heard throughout all of the ship.

“Oh hoh. This is a very good type of new”, Ghost Rider gleefully mused as he was thrown around throughout the control room of the ship. When he got the chance and grabbed a firm hold of the main steering wheel, more flames shot out across the ship, as well as spewing out of the Rider himself. “I might have to stop using a motorcycle if a ship gives me this much power!”

Back with Peter and Stephen, they witnessed firsthand as the Kraken started its attack on their boat, bringing one of its tentacles down onto the ship. It was just off crashing straight through the hull, Ghost Rider’s wild flames affecting it enough to stave it off. The Kraken roared, not at all liking this outcome. 

Trying again, it brought another tentacle down, this time prepared for the heat of the Rider’s flames. This one was successful, the appendage smashing straight through the floor next to Peter. The man fell off balance for just a moment before righting himself.

 _Now’s my chance_ , he thought, clinging to the tentacle and running up it. He got all of the way up, reaching the giant head of the creature.

Jumping high in the air, he brought his fists down, smashing the Kraken right in the head. What Peter didn’t account for though was the unnatural squishiness of the creature’s head, which was almost like a slingshot. Because the moment he hit the thing, his fists sunk in before being thrown back out, sending him sailing through the air.

“Peter”, Stephen groaned in annoyance, just seeing the figure falling through the air. Keeping one barely-steady hand on his spell, he used the other to quickly cast a porting spell, sucking up Peter and spitting him back out right next to the Sorcerer Supreme.

“Thanks”, Peter muttered before getting ready to attack again. He shot out a web at the Kraken just as Strange finally completed his spell, a bright, blinding light shooting up into the Kraken.

A hideous mix of a hiss and a scream came from the attack of exploding light, all of the Kraken’s limbs flailing for a moment. Then, before it could recover, a stream of white hot flames shot out of the ship’s front, slamming right into the centre of the Kraken’s head. Another unnerving scream followed before it did anything else.

“I think it’s on the ropes”, Peter called out, getting ready to swing at it. As he did so, ramming through the air and rain right into the ink coloured eye of the Kraken, the creature made its final attack. A tentacle came flying at Peter, slamming him completely and precisely, sending him away from the scene at impossible speeds.

Doctor Strange was barely allowed a moment of shock before another tentacle came down on the ship, hitting a vital part of its structuring. The floor beneath the sorcerer’s feet collapsed, and he was just able to see the Rider’s flames that covered the ship go out before his vision faded to black...

As Peter slowly crawled back into consciousness, he could just feel the soft and comforting feeling of tiny waves lightly pushing against his legs.

As he was able to process more and more, he also noticed the warm and bright sun on his back, and the bright, vibrant colours of the fauna around him.

Cautiously raising himself, Peter coughed as he took everything in at once. He flexed his hands, blinking his eyes. They widened as he finally processed everything that had happened and was going on. 

“Holy...” he whispered, slowly turning and taking in the island he had washed up on. “This ain’t Kansas, _that’s_ for sure."


End file.
